1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automated installation for processing large objects. In particular, the present invention is directed to an automated mobile workshop which is particularly suitable for use in the construction, manufacture and fabrication of relatively large objects, such as ships, in addition to the retrofitting and the repair of such large objects.
2. Discussion of Background and Material Information
In recent years numerous types of automated workshops have been constructed or proposed for processing various objects, although shipbuilding has been relatively unaffected by these developments. The reason for this is that shipbuilding raises particular problems which are rarely, if ever, encountered in combination in other industry sectors.
One of these problems results from the size of the the particular item being manufactured retrofitted or otherwise requiring repair. The dimensions of a hull or of a section of a hull are such that it is inconceivable to convey it into the vicinity of consecutive processing robots. Accordingly, it is rather the robots which must be moved into a working position. Another problem relating to the ship building industry results from the fact that the tasks to be carried out are generally not particularly repetitive. Consider a section of a hull of a ship, which is composed of a certain number of cells or chambers delimited by longitudinal or transverse bulkheads, each cell resembling its neighbours but generally differing from them. In contrast to boats, ships are such a larger scale that they are almost always custom-built and, therefore, it is rare for two or more ships to be strictly identical. Because of this, a system of automated functions and method of organisation which automated only strictly repetitive tasks would fail to take care of an unacceptable proportion of the work involved.